51: Dr. Mora's Jello Mold

Scientific and Medical Ethics.   In Deep Space Nine, we learn that the Bajoran scientist Dr. Mora Pol helped Odo achieve his full potential as a sentient, shape-shifting life form. Odo, however, carried deep-seated resentment for his initial treatment under Dr. Mora and for some of Dr. Mora's more invasive research methods. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison discuss issues of scientific and medical ethics in Star Trek, including whether one is ever justified in causing harm to another living being for benefit of that being itself, for the benefit of other living beings, for a society's greater good, or for the sake of increasing scientific and medical knowledge.   Chapters  Welcome to Episode 51 (00:01:07)  The Four Stages of Odo and Dr. Mora (00:02:25)  Sentience, Suffering, and Informed Consent (00:05:21)  Competing Ethical Theories on Scientific Research (00:13:56)  The Cardassian Factor - Comparing Dr. Mora Pol with Dr. Crell Moset (00:24:46)  Virtue Ethics - Clinical Detachment and the Ethics of Care (00:33:09)  The Evolution of Dr. Mora - From Scientist to Loving Father (00:39:23)  Emotionally Attached Doctors in Star Trek - McCoy and Pulaski (00:54:17)  Comparison with Commander Maddox and Data (00:56:06)  Final Thoughts (00:58:12)   Hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison   Production Mike Morrison (Editor and Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)   Send us your feedback! Twitter: @trekfm  Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm  Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm  Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact  Visit the Trek.fm website at http://www.trek.fm/  Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm   Support the Network! Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm